


Why do pirates steal?

by storylinecontinuum



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Colonial America, Gen, Historical Hetalia, mention of piracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27827161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storylinecontinuum/pseuds/storylinecontinuum
Summary: England promptly spat out his rum and sputtered before shooting Alfred a nervous look.“Now where did that come from?” He tried to smile, feeling the skin around his collar grow damp with sweat.
Relationships: America & England (Hetalia)
Kudos: 26





	Why do pirates steal?

“Why do pirates steal?”

England promptly spat out his rum, _his rum_ , and sputtered before shooting Alfred a nervous look.

“Now where did that come from?” He tried to smile, feeling the skin around his collar grow damp with sweat. The boy across the table furrowed his brows and England lamented how quickly the young colony was growing not only in size but in cleverness as well. Before long his flimsy facades would be helpless before America’s curiosity.

“Blackbeard’s been terrorizing one of my ports!” Alfred fumed and Arthur had to remind himself to take the boy seriously despite his small size. “He’s blockaded Charleston harbor for almost a week and I didn’t get your letter because of it!”

Alfred huffed and crossed his bony arms in front of him. He was at that (physical) age where he still had the unquestionable appearance of a child but was growing ridiculously tall. The result was a set of unwieldy gangling limbs paired with puffy round cheeks and England had to once again admonish himself for forgetting that Alfred was a good century old in age. Which meant that he was getting progressively more interested in the adults’ affairs.

It also meant that Arthur’s usual explanations about ‘good people’ and ‘bad people’ wouldn’t cut it anymore. Arthur chewed his lip to stall for time but Alfred only took it as a sign to continue.

“Why do they steal? There are so many opportunities to make an honest living - new farms are being built every day and there’s work for everyone. I just don’t get it!”

“Well, lad, it’s not just about money…” Arthur said and settled his eyes on the tabletop between them.

How did one go about explaining freedom to a colony? _Should_ he be explaining freedom to a colony? He could explain how pirates came to be – Raleigh, the buccaneers, the letters of marque, Queen Anne’s War (that ironically Alfred’s current blight, Blackbeard, had named his flagship after).

But that wouldn’t explain the essence of what it meant to be a pirate. And if he explained that he would compromise his own precious reputation. Arthur couldn’t allow that to happen. He had to be perfect for Alfred – the perfect model, the perfect guardian, because otherwise why would Alfred trust him with handling his affairs?

Perhaps it was time to start treating Alfred as a proper adult, Arthur thought. And what Arthur did with adults when he felt cornered was either fight or lie himself out of that corner. Arthur was very good at lying… But he was also very good at convincingly avoiding the need to lie.

“It’s complicated, lad.” He said at length. “There’s only one way to understand these men and that is to think like them, to live like them. And that’s obviously not something you and I can afford to do, now is it?”

_There_ , Arthur crossed his legs, feeling happy with himself. It was only the truth after all. He had had his fair share of fun while teetering on the edge of legal boundaries, usually with the ‘wink and nod’ blessing of his government, but after 1713 that government’s stance on pirates had changed. England had proclaimed itself an enemy of piracy and, by extension, so had Arthur.

So he hadn’t lied to America, at least not in terms of how things currently stood. He could keep looking at those lovely blue eyes, his favorite sight in all of the world, without being tormented by guilt.

Alfred, on the other hand didn’t look so happy. Upon hearing Arthur’s words, he’d slumped back into his chair and stared at his feet with a miserable pout. The boy had always had a mindset that called him to action and there was no way he’d be satisfied with such an answer.

Arthur’s priority, however, was to keep Alfred satisfied.

“Oh, don’t worry poppet,” he smiled and leaned forward to catch Alfred’s eye. “I’ll make sure the navy doubles down on its efforts to get rid of Blackbeard and any other pirates tormenting your coasts. Does that sound alright?”

The hesitant smile he got in reply was reassurance enough and Arthur went back to his dinner with renewed appetite. The burn of the rum as it slid down his throat was as sweet as always.

A few months later Maynard, a mere lieutenant, had disposed of Blackbeard for good and Arthur was reading through the draft of the second proclamation of mass pardon that would soon be on its way to the Caribbean. Some part of him wriggled uncomfortably as he went over the document, memories of distant voyages and carousing under the stars stirring in his mind. But in the end his hand was steady as he signed his approval.

After all he still had his navy. And more importantly, he had made America happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Historical notes:
> 
> 1\. Blackbeard’s blockade of Charleston took place in May 1718 and lasted an entire week. In that time he plundered nearly ten ships and took hostages for ransom, including a councilman. Only six months later however, Blackbeard and his crew would be defeated by the Royal Navy’s Lieutenant Robert Maynard and his men at Ocracoke island.
> 
> In December that same year the second royal proclamation promising pardons to pirates (more widely known as the King’s Pardon) would be issued and the Golden Age of Piracy would come to an end by the close of the following decade.
> 
> 2\. During the time when the Americas were known as the Spanish Main, the islands in the Caribbean offered a stopping point for Spanish ships arriving from Europe. In order for those ships to have available resources to resupply, large amounts of livestock were left to roam on the islands. In time, men from all four European naval powers - Spain, France, England and the Netherlands, flocked to the Caribbean and came to be known as buccaneers: a term that derives from the name of the wooden frame used to smoke the meat of the cattle.
> 
> 3\. A letter of marque is a commission given by a belligerent state to a private vessel to allow it to be used as a ship of war. These licenses are what defines the difference between a privateer and a pirate. According to them privateers had the right to capture the merchant vessels of the enemy, after which the state usually got a share of the profits.
> 
> 4\. Queen Anne’s War (1702 - 1713), fought between France and Britain, was concurrent with the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe and after peace was achieved trade in the Caribbean began to flourish, effectively making pirates more of a nuisance than an aid to the empire. Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, was named after that conflict.


End file.
